Dietary Requirements
Every good pet owner wants to give their pets the best diet. Cavies are fibrevores. This means their diet must have a fibre base. The best advice I was given was from another Registered Breeder who said “Just feed them like they’re little horses”. Oats, hay, chaff and grass are all wonderful for cavies of all ages (though not too much or they can become overweight).
A daily mix is important in maintaining healthy tummies. My personal favourite place to get cavy feed is from the Oakleigh Produce Store (103 Warrigal Road, Oakleigh, VIV, 3166 (03) 9568 0419) I generally buy a 20k bag of mix, 30k bag of chaff and 10k bag of pellets which I mix myself. Cavies are very sensitive to sudden changes in diet. If picking up your pets for the first time, try to be sure they are fed the same thing at first and slowly change over (combining both foods in the middle) in a few days. I am happy to provide a small amount of food for you to mix in if you ask. Some cavies are very picky and might not like the new food you give them. Just try to offer it in small amounts until they get used to it being there.
Important note: I have recently learned during my vet nurse course that seeds can be quite harmful, adding to obesity as well as becoming stuck and causing rear tooth ulcers. As a result, I will be fazing them out and feeding my cavies a mix of plain pellets, chaff and oats alongside the usual safe daily hay, fruit and veggies.
Vegetables must be offered daily as part of their balanced diet. Note: Rhubarb is lethal to cavies – do not feed. Green tomato stems are also poisonous! They also should not be offered vegetable high in starch or too many citric fruits. They can’t create their own vitamin C and are prone to scurvy if not given enough. They need a daily dose. I suggest a cup of red peppers, broccoli, dandelion greens or parsley. Other suggested veggies: cucumber, kale, tomato, carrots (in small amounts – high in sugar and vitamin A) apples (in small amounts – high in sugars) bok choy, coriander, spinach, celery (chopped so it isn’t too stringy) Brussels sprouts and peas.
They will happily eat most veggie scraps – just be sure there is no meat contamination or unsafe veg mixed in. If unsure, don’t offer it to them. But that is all just my personal opinion.
Straight from the ANCFOC.org website! Best advice, right here, from an administrator:
"Here is my formula for working out how much to give them, its not the amount of fresh fruit and veggies they get its the quality, some food you think are good for them are just "fillers" and they have a very small nutritional value. Here is a list based on 100g of the food weight so if the food has 100 next to the name you only need to feed 10g of that food, or what I did get out the scales and keep adding that fruit and veg untll you have 10g that way you know what the serving size will be. It's suprising just how much or little they really need!"
100 divided by 190 = .5 x 10 = 5g
Vegetables
Red/Yellow Capsicum - 190......you only need 5g
Parsley - 133.........................need 8g
Broccoli - 93..........................need 10g
Green Capscium - 89............need 9g
Kohlrabi - 62..........................need 20g
Podded Peas - 60..................need 20g
Cauliflower - 46......................need 25g
Fruit
Kiwi Fruit - 98.................need 10g
Paw Paw - 62.................need 20g
Strawberries - 57............need 20g
Orange - 53....................need 20g
Rockmelon - 42..............need 25g
Values are based in mg on 100g portions. Cavies need at least 10 - 40mg of Vitamin C EVERY DAY. Best choices are at the TOP of each list.
Vegetables/Herbs
Red Capsicum 190
Parsley 133
Broccoli 93
Green Capsicum 89
Brussels Sprouts 85
Cauliflower 46
Chinese Cabbage 45
Cabbage 32
Silverbeet or Spinach 30
Kale 25
Chickory 24
Cos Lettuce 24
Fennel 12
Zucchini 11
Pumpkin 9
Choko 8
Corn 7
Endive 6
Asparagus 5
Carrots 3
Iceburg Lettuce 3
Fruit
Kiwifruit 98
Paw Paw (Papaya) 62
Strawberries 57
Orange 53
Lemon 53
Cantaloupe 42
Grapefruit, Pink and Red 38
Grapefruit, White 33
Tangerine 30
Lime 29
Mango 28
Raspberries 25
Honeydew Melon 25
Blackberries 21
Pineapple 15
Watermelon 8
Weeds/Grasses
Fresh Lucerne 178
Dandelion Greens 35
Most Grasses ~65
A daily mix is important in maintaining healthy tummies. My personal favourite place to get cavy feed is from the Oakleigh Produce Store (103 Warrigal Road, Oakleigh, VIV, 3166 (03) 9568 0419) I generally buy a 20k bag of mix, 30k bag of chaff and 10k bag of pellets which I mix myself. Cavies are very sensitive to sudden changes in diet. If picking up your pets for the first time, try to be sure they are fed the same thing at first and slowly change over (combining both foods in the middle) in a few days. I am happy to provide a small amount of food for you to mix in if you ask. Some cavies are very picky and might not like the new food you give them. Just try to offer it in small amounts until they get used to it being there.
Important note: I have recently learned during my vet nurse course that seeds can be quite harmful, adding to obesity as well as becoming stuck and causing rear tooth ulcers. As a result, I will be fazing them out and feeding my cavies a mix of plain pellets, chaff and oats alongside the usual safe daily hay, fruit and veggies.
Vegetables must be offered daily as part of their balanced diet. Note: Rhubarb is lethal to cavies – do not feed. Green tomato stems are also poisonous! They also should not be offered vegetable high in starch or too many citric fruits. They can’t create their own vitamin C and are prone to scurvy if not given enough. They need a daily dose. I suggest a cup of red peppers, broccoli, dandelion greens or parsley. Other suggested veggies: cucumber, kale, tomato, carrots (in small amounts – high in sugar and vitamin A) apples (in small amounts – high in sugars) bok choy, coriander, spinach, celery (chopped so it isn’t too stringy) Brussels sprouts and peas.
They will happily eat most veggie scraps – just be sure there is no meat contamination or unsafe veg mixed in. If unsure, don’t offer it to them. But that is all just my personal opinion.
Straight from the ANCFOC.org website! Best advice, right here, from an administrator:
"Here is my formula for working out how much to give them, its not the amount of fresh fruit and veggies they get its the quality, some food you think are good for them are just "fillers" and they have a very small nutritional value. Here is a list based on 100g of the food weight so if the food has 100 next to the name you only need to feed 10g of that food, or what I did get out the scales and keep adding that fruit and veg untll you have 10g that way you know what the serving size will be. It's suprising just how much or little they really need!"
100 divided by 190 = .5 x 10 = 5g
Vegetables
Red/Yellow Capsicum - 190......you only need 5g
Parsley - 133.........................need 8g
Broccoli - 93..........................need 10g
Green Capscium - 89............need 9g
Kohlrabi - 62..........................need 20g
Podded Peas - 60..................need 20g
Cauliflower - 46......................need 25g
Fruit
Kiwi Fruit - 98.................need 10g
Paw Paw - 62.................need 20g
Strawberries - 57............need 20g
Orange - 53....................need 20g
Rockmelon - 42..............need 25g
Values are based in mg on 100g portions. Cavies need at least 10 - 40mg of Vitamin C EVERY DAY. Best choices are at the TOP of each list.
Vegetables/Herbs
Red Capsicum 190
Parsley 133
Broccoli 93
Green Capsicum 89
Brussels Sprouts 85
Cauliflower 46
Chinese Cabbage 45
Cabbage 32
Silverbeet or Spinach 30
Kale 25
Chickory 24
Cos Lettuce 24
Fennel 12
Zucchini 11
Pumpkin 9
Choko 8
Corn 7
Endive 6
Asparagus 5
Carrots 3
Iceburg Lettuce 3
Fruit
Kiwifruit 98
Paw Paw (Papaya) 62
Strawberries 57
Orange 53
Lemon 53
Cantaloupe 42
Grapefruit, Pink and Red 38
Grapefruit, White 33
Tangerine 30
Lime 29
Mango 28
Raspberries 25
Honeydew Melon 25
Blackberries 21
Pineapple 15
Watermelon 8
Weeds/Grasses
Fresh Lucerne 178
Dandelion Greens 35
Most Grasses ~65